Team Renfroe trip report with TONS of pics & reviews

[englishrose47]

Alan your report is almost as good as being there you just capture the Magic of Disney so well! I saqw your list of top 5 rides and I def. know 4 of them are not on my list I am a complete rolercoaster etc NOT person ! Stems from Teen years with my first and only time on a coaster and a near death experience on a Ferris wheel compliments of my girlfriend who lept at me as she was scared and we almost tipped upside down!! I can't comment onthe Gusher one as I don't know that one or maybe I have a different name for it!!!

 

[Shazzie B]

Just thought of another question-can you see CSR from EE. We were staying at AKL last year and saw that-well the roof anyway . From the maps EE looks like it's on the CSR side of the park

 

[alan_renfroe]

More pictures from Kilimanjaro Safaris:

My least favorite thing about Kilimanjaro Safaris was the "storyline" of nearly escaping a collapsing bridge and trying to catch poachers. I don't mean that it was bad or anything....I just think that seeing the animals in their natural habitat was plenty of entertainment, without the scripted story.

Kilimanjaro Safari is awesome!! We got to ride right up front in the first seats and we all loved it. It was one of the rides we could all share together.

Next installment - It's Tough to be a Bug, Dinoland USA, and all kinds of fun!

 

[jennwndrlnd]

Kudos on your great review! I am now canceling our H&V ADR and going to search for something else, and I am going to ride EE (I was too chicken last year!). I am amazed while reading all the reviews how people go back and forth to their resort, once we are in the park we only leave if we have to for a dinner ressie. Reading your report has made me realize that it's possible to hit all the highlights without completely exhausting everyone, which in my case makes me come home feeling like I need a vacation just to rest. I am looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

[Dcanoli]

Alan,

I'm sure you already know this, but that flamingo "island" you took a picture of and posted above is in the shape of a HIDDEN MICKEY!!!

 

[MAJ RN]

So glad to hear that your DD was feeling better the next day. That stomach virus can be very hard on a person, epsecially a child. Sorry to hear about your horrible dinner at Hollywood and Vine. I was suprised to see that your son had chosen the Chicken Nuggets, he always seems very adventurous in his food choices. Hope you had a great day at AK. Can't wait to read more


Melissa

 

[disneyhockeymad]

wow very nice! Glad your DD was feeling better, it's always horrible to be ill at WDW. Shame you missed your dinner though, although it does now give you an excuse to go back!!
Great pictures from the safari, you're making so much more excited looking at all your pictures, 2 weeks will go by so slowly now!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Just found your trip report and am so glad I did! It is wonderful! Your family is beautiful! So glad that you DD is feeling better! Can't wait to read more!

Welcome, GoofySon'sMom! Thanks for you wonderful comments!

Wow I've had a bit of catching up to do......., sorry that your DD had an upset tummy, I don't think there's anything worse than being sick, but then again I'm a wimp when it comes to being sick and want my Dad! (nothing better than your Dad when your sick ). Pepper market looks like a great idea . And how brave are you and your DS, I hate RNR and so did my eldest DD last year , never managed to do ToT yet so that's on the cards for Feb . Great photo's of your day at Animal Kingdom & Everest Did you do Kali River Rapids????

Hi Karen! Thanks for the comments. We did not get to ride Kali River Rapids, although we all wanted to. I'll explain more in my upcoming installment.

So sorry your daughter was ill, I know how she feels because that happened to me Oct 06....I tried to muddle through it but it was soooo hot outside that I think the heat made me feel worse!

I agree with you 100% about H&V DH and I ate there once, Dec 05 and it was so disgusting! The food, the service and the cleanliness of the entire place was just plain terrible.

Nicki & Todd, we definitely seem to share similar opinions concerning restaurants. I totally agree about H&V....I seriously just wanted to get out of there.

You are absolutely right about the heat outside making it worse. More later.

I love it too! I'll never forget my first time riding I was seated with a young boy (DH & DS were behind me) who was riding for the second time. When he heard it was my first time he proceeded to give me a play by play of what was going to happen right before it happened.....

Hahahaha....you gotta love that! The yeti is so HUGE, it is too bad that you only see the animatronic for like 2 seconds...it is really impressive.

Wow, I really have enjoyed your trip report...my boss not so much becasue I have not gotten a thing done today....he'll get over it though cause I never "goof off" lol.

Looks like you guys really had a good time. You guys do Disney like us...whatever we decide to do at the moment minus the dinner ressies, that is the plan.

Glad DD was able to get up and around for Animal Kingdom. Bless her little heart, but tell her that just means you guys will need to plan another trip so she can go and not get sick.

Yeah, it was a slower day for me at work today also. We had a great time, and you're right...as long as we know where our next meal is going to be, everything else is changable!

I will definitely let DD know that we'll just have to go back again!

Alan your report is almost as good as being there you just capture the Magic of Disney so well! I saqw your list of top 5 rides and I def. know 4 of them are not on my list I am a complete rolercoaster etc NOT person ! Stems from Teen years with my first and only time on a coaster and a near death experience on a Ferris wheel compliments of my girlfriend who lept at me as she was scared and we almost tipped upside down!! I can't comment onthe Gusher one as I don't know that one or maybe I have a different name for it!!!

Thank you, englishrose47! I am so sorry to hear about your terrible past experience on rides. One time about 3 years ago, DD & I were stuck on a ferris wheel for about 40 minutes. I kept her calm by telling her they must really like us to let us ride this long!

You sound more like DW, and you'd probably like her top 5. Some of her favorites were Mickey's Philharmagic, Soarin', etc.

Just thought of another question-can you see CSR from EE. We were staying at AKL last year and saw that-well the roof anyway . From the maps EE looks like it's on the CSR side of the park

Shazzie B, you keep reminding me of all these things I meant to say in the report!! We could definitely see CSR from the crest of EE. Right at the apex before going inside the mountain, CSR can be seen on the lefthand side. (You can also see Spaceship Earth at Epcot and the Tower of Terror at DHS.) The view of CSR gives you an idea of just how big that resort really is!

 

[MAJ RN]

Don't you just love the tree of life at AK!! The first time we went I have a wonderful time just looking at all the aminals carved into the trunk. Great pics of the safari. I agree with you about this, they could drop the story line and it would be just as exciting.


Melissa

 

[alan_renfroe]

Kudos on your great review! I am now canceling our H&V ADR and going to search for something else, and I am going to ride EE (I was too chicken last year!). I am amazed while reading all the reviews how people go back and forth to their resort, once we are in the park we only leave if we have to for a dinner ressie. Reading your report has made me realize that it's possible to hit all the highlights without completely exhausting everyone, which in my case makes me come home feeling like I need a vacation just to rest. I am looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thanks for your kind comments, jennwndrlnd! First of all, good move on cancelling H&V....TRUST ME! Second, you have to try EE! DW would have ridden the ride but felt like she really needed to stay with DD, since she was still not 100%. We could have done the swap thing, but DW was not that enthusiastic about it. I was like a little kid!

On going back to the room during the day, we have friends of ours who had gone before us. When we told them that we planned to take breaks in the afternoons back at the resort they said, "you won't do it! We said we were going to do that, but we never did!" However, we DID do it. I think the main reason why is because if you get to the parks at rope drop, you can ride pretty much all of the major things within just a few hours. Believe me, even with the breaks, we were PLENTY tired at the end of our week!

Alan,

I'm sure you already know this, but that flamingo "island" you took a picture of and posted above is in the shape of a HIDDEN MICKEY!!!

Very cool! I didn't even notice! Nice pickup.

So glad to hear that your DD was feeling better the next day. That stomach virus can be very hard on a person, epsecially a child. Sorry to hear about your horrible dinner at Hollywood and Vine. I was suprised to see that your son had chosen the Chicken Nuggets, he always seems very adventurous in his food choices. Hope you had a great day at AK. Can't wait to read more


Melissa

Hi Melissa! I think DS went with chicken nuggets because the options were so limited. They had a boneless pork chop with BBQ sauce on it, (see the picture of my plate,) which was absolutely gross, they had prime rib, which is too rare for him, and chicken nuggets! I'm sure there may have been a meatloaf or something in there as well, but he actually picked on of the eatable items! Bless his heart, if he had chosen this restaurant to get adventurous, he may have spent the rest of his life eating PB&J!!!

wow very nice! Glad your DD was feeling better, it's always horrible to be ill at WDW. Shame you missed your dinner though, although it does now give you an excuse to go back!!
Great pictures from the safari, you're making so much more excited looking at all your pictures, 2 weeks will go by so slowly now!!

Thanks, disneyhockeymad. Hopefully your two weeks will fly by!! Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Don't you just love the tree of life at AK!! The first time we went I have a wonderful time just looking at all the aminals carved into the trunk. Great pics of the safari. I agree with you about this, they could drop the story line and it would be just as exciting.


Melissa

Love, love LOVE the Tree of Life! What a wonderful piece of art...very appropriate for the surroundings. I could have spent an hour just pondering the carvings.

Glad to know someone else agrees with me about the story line part of the safaris. I mean it didn't distract from our enjoyment of the ride, it just seemed hoaky when I was enjoying the more educational side of it.

 

[BellaSwan]

I am so glad that your DD is feeling better

Thank you for sharing your trip with us I really am enjoying your report and all your pics

 

[alan_renfroe]

I am so glad that your DD is feeling better

Thank you for sharing your trip with us I really am enjoying your report and all your pics

Thanks, BellaSwan! Next installment coming up...

 

[Figment's Friend]

Glad DD was all better! Great up close shots of the Tree of Life!

 

[alan_renfroe]

After Kilimanjaro Safaris, we walked from Africa back to Discovery Island.

Back at Discovery Island, we decided to see "It's Tough to be a Bug."

DS used to love "A Bug's Life" when he was little, but says he doesn't remember it. Anyway, DS, DW & I LOVED it....DD not so much. She was really freaked out by the loudness, darkness, and spiders from the ceiling. I laughed the whole time! I thought it was great!

Next, we walked over to Dinoland USA.

DS & I got fastpasses to ride Dinosaur! DW & DD decided to sit that one out.

After getting the fastpasses, DS & I rode Primeval Whirl while DW & DD rode Triceratop Spin.

DS & I really enjoyed Primeval Whirl, especially the spinning part! When we met back up with the girls, they were not able to ride Triceratop Spin because it was not functioning properly. Fortunately, it was fixed and running again by the time we joined back up with them....so we all rode together.

Next installment - DS & I ride Dinosaur! while DD gets her face painted!

 

[LMO429]

excellent tr! subscribing love the links to the next thread and the pics!

 

[alan_renfroe]

After Triceratop Spin, DS & I went to ride Dinosaur using our fastpasses. Meanwhile, DW took DD to get her face painted.

DS took this photo just inside the Dinosaur building:

DS & I enjoyed Dinosaur, but I wasn't ready to jump right back on it. It is very ROUGH! I'm glad DD didn't ride....she would've freaked! Dinosaurs jumping out at you constantly....it wasn't as scary as it was annoying! Come to think of it, I guess I didn't like it that well. I did enjoy having the experience with DS though.

After exiting the ride, DS saw this poster and thought it was funny!

Next, it was time to catch back up with the girls and see how DD's facepainting came out. It was AWESOME!! How cute is she?

After leaving Dinoland, we went to catch Finding Nemo: The Musical.

This show was INCREDIBLE! It is about 45 minutes long and every bit as good as productions I've seen on Broadway. These actors/puppeteers/singers are incredible. Not only do they voice their characters, they puppet them and sing! I can't imagine how they are able to do 5 shows a day! Anybody who likes the movie Finding Nemo should love this musical....it is a MUST DO!

After the musical, it was starting to get close to our lunch reservations at Yak & Yeti. Since DS & I had picked up fastpasses earlier for Expedition Everest, we went and rode one more time before meeting the girls at Yak & Yeti for lunch.

We had read mixed reviews about Yak & Yeti, but I was really looking forward to it. It was soooo hot outside by this time, we were just glad to get inside the nicely cooled restaurant. Yak & Yeti is beautiful! It fits very well with the themeing of Asia.

Yak & Yeti had a great menu, and as you will read in my next report, I LOVED it!

DS is getting brave and trying the chopsticks!

Next installment - Yak & Yeti lunch review (this is a GOOD one!)

 

[TCKK]

Great update and pics again. Looks like everyone was having a good time.

 

[RachelNinja]

Love the AK pictures! So much of it is new to me since I've only been there once a LONG time ago. I like the many perspectives, especially the views from higher up.

For Primeval Whirl, you said you guys liked the spinning part. Do you typically not get dizzy during spinning parts? The ride seems very fun to me, but I'm afraid I'd get dizzy!

 

[estherhead]

Great AK photos! Just wanted to comment on the storyline of the Safari. I thought it ws goofy too until I had 4-6 yr olds with me and they really bought into the storyline hook, line, and sinker. They were on the look out for poachers & on the bridge my daughter put fingernail marks into my arm that lasted for days. She was soooo freaked out just sure we were doomed. After that, I'm OK with the corny storyline. I understood who it was for.

 

[MichelleVW]

Your kids are adorable!! Sorry your DD got sick

I'm loving the trip report and especially the food pics!!!

Your DD was adorable during her dinner with Cinderella!